Christianity

Yesterday, while taking my husband to work, I passed a local church. This one, like all others, had a sign out front with a scripture. Being a former Jehovah’s Witness, I am pretty well versed in the Bible. This one had Matthew 25:40. “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (ESV)” It made me think of the rest of what that chapter says. Jesus was explaining how things would go when he returned. Verses 41-45 goes on to talk about how he would dismiss those who did not minister to him. Those that saw him hungry and did not feed him or thirsty and did not give him a drink.

I have many friends in the LGBT community that can reconcile their lives with Christianity. Two of them are even preachers. But, there are other factions of Christianity that want nothing more than to see all people that don’t believe EXACTLY the way they do expunged from the earth. Going so far as to quote scriptures on why those in the LGBT community should not have the rights that everyone else has. We all know about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that was shelved, but not killed. This bill would allow businesses to refuse service to anyone based on their religious beliefs (whether LGBT, unwed mothers, divorced mothers, etc).

Now, I had 23 years as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Fourth generation. Nothing that I recall shows that Jesus refused someone simply because they didn’t believe as he did. I specifically remember the woman at the well that was not Jewish. Now, with President Trump banning refugees from seven countries, the Christians are doing just that. Remember the WWJD bracelets? What do you think Jesus would do about them? The US was founded because people were escaping religious intolerance, yet we are intolerant of those that believe differently than us.

Now, I have no problems with Christianity. I find that having something to believe in actually helps people. What I have a problem with is when Christians use their Christianity to discriminate. I have already been on the receiving end of this. RFRA is going to come back, President Trump is expelling immigrants and refugees and there is a bill in some states to block LGBT couples from adopting. This is not the Christian way. Not the way I have learned the Bible. I think it is time to reevaluate our principles and remember why this country was founded.